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ST. LOUIS—The note at the top of a restaurant receipt reads simply, “I give God 10%, why do you get 18?”

The scribbled comment left by Pastor Alois Bell at the Applebee’s at Kingshighway and Chippewa in south St. Louis City set off viral mayhem. The waitress who posted it online was fired, and the customer who wrote it vilified.

The server said Bell was dining with a party of 20 on Jan. 25 and asked to have the $200-plus bill broken up into smaller increments to avoid paying the paying the automatic 18% tip.

Bell, who's a pastor at Truth in the World Deliverance Ministry, paid the tip, but the snarky note prompted another waitress to post a photo of the receipt on the website Reddit. She was fired.

Applebee’s President Mike Archer said Friday that customers deserve privacy and the note violated the company’s social media policy.